Monday, 21 May 2018:
A South Korean team will play in the 2018/19 Australian Baseball League, with organisers hoping the deal will help the competition capitalise on the interest of a country full of baseball enthusiasts.
The expansion team will be made up of solely South Korean players and they will be based and play all of their home games in Australia.
It's the first time an Australian professional sporting league has included an international team from Asia, and the ABL is keen to also explore the commercial possibilities.
"With an anticipated broadcast audience of up to 1 million viewers per game, we expect the international exposure for our partners and our teams' partners to increase exponentially," Baseball Australia CEO Cam Vale said.
"The opportunity for Australian businesses to seek exposure into Korea is unrivalled to any other Australian domestic sporting team.
"In a region where more people attended live baseball games last year than the entire population of Australia, the spotlight will be on us when traditional northern hemisphere powerhouses Korea, Japan and Taiwan are dormant in their winter months.
"The inclusion of a top-three ranked baseball nation in the ABL will give Australian players more opportunities to improve their game by competing against quality talent week in, week out."
The licence for the Korean team is the third ABL team announcement, following on from the previous announcements regarding the Sydney Blue Sox and Canberra Cavalry.
Information regarding the other four existing ABL teams, as well as the location of the Korean team and a second expansion team, is expected to be released in the next fortnight.
